Meet Our People

The next generation of LEGENDAIRY

If Jess Pearce is the future of dairy in the LEGENDAIRY Bega Valley then that future looks bright.

The 22-year-old has just been appointed as Dairy Australia’s Young Dairy Co-coordinator in the district and is taking on the role with energy and enthusiasm.

“It’s very exciting. I have a strong passion for being involved in the Young Dairy Network (YDN), as well as discussion groups in the local community,” she said.

“I’ve always loved farming and I was always Dad’s ‘right-hand man’ as a kid, even if I had to stand on a bucket in the dairy to reach everything.”

Jess has seen plenty of Australia in her fledgling agricultural career, but the green valleys of Bega were always going to bring her home to her family’s fourth generation dairy farm.

“I was in TOCAL Agriculture College and then I just wanted to get out and work, so I moved north for a few years where I was a sugar cane contractor, worked on a station and on a passionfruit farm,” she said.

“I was still in agriculture, but I was opening my mind and seeing the bigger world before I came home. Then I came home for a holiday and I never left again.”

The YDN was established to meet the needs of the younger generation of dairy farmers, employees and service providers, offering education and support to people aged between 18 and 40.

Jess is the first YDN co-ordinator appointed in the Bega Valley, which means she has a big job to create the networks and support systems for younger farmers in the district.

“I know there are a lot of younger people out there but, before now, no-one had brought us together,” she said.

“The YDN program can help form that community of young farmers through discussion groups and social gatherings where they can get to know each other.

“It’s really going strong at the moment in the Bega Valley area and hopefully it will keep going strong. It’s a great place to be a dairy farmer.”